Clifton Harris, President & CEO, Urban League of Middle Tennessee

In an interview with Invest:, Clifton Harris, president and CEO of the Urban League of Middle Tennessee, highlighted the importance of partnerships, regional collaboration, and adapting to evolving workforce needs, to address economic disparities and workforce development. “The need remains the same: we must invest in our most precious resource, which is human capital,” Harris said.

What have been some significant milestones for the Urban League of Middle Tennessee over the last 12 to 18 months?

One of the most significant milestones for us has been the partnerships we have built with over 27 different organizations. We have distributed about $3.2 million to those organizations, having a tremendous impact. This has allowed us to touch the lives of some 8,000 people through workforce development initiatives.

Have you seen any measurable progress in ensuring access to capital and investment in human talent?

We have seen significant progress. As a result of increased access to capital, we will soon graduate the second cohort from the Real Estate Developers (R.E.D.) Academy. These individuals are now involved in real estate development projects worth over $350 million, which will result in more than 1400 units of affordable housing. These developers have gone from building an average of five houses per year to an average of 81 units per year. Our second cohort, who have scaled up from five houses per year to 71 houses per year, with projects already underway. These individuals still have nine months left in the program. Access to capital, technical know-how, modern technology, and master’s level trainers has created the perfect formula for producing affordable housing units for individuals earning between 30% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

What shifts have you observed in workforce development needs across Middle Tennessee?

The need remains the same: we must invest in our most precious resource, which is human capital. People need to be upskilled and reskilled to access livable wage jobs, yet we see that communities of color are overrepresented in low-wage jobs and underrepresented in high-wage occupations. We must address this imbalance by preparing individuals for future jobs, including those that incorporate AI, which is why our focus is on reskilling individuals so they can take advantage of better opportunities.

Additionally, we are noting shifting employment trends. We have seen an increase in mid-level professionals seeking employment, which presents a new challenge for us in helping them find suitable positions.

How is the Urban League adapting its job training and career readiness programs to meet these evolving demands?

One of the things we are doing is helping employers understand the importance of focusing on an individual’s skill set rather than just their academic background. Many people can perform a job but may not have the formal credentials. We are also working with midlevel professionals to retool their resumes and improve their interview skills, as many have not had to look for a job in 10 to 15 years. We are addressing both the employee and employer sides to ensure a better match between job opportunities and candidates.

We are also helping individuals reframe their existing skills as transferable skills. For example, someone who has worked in house cleaning may not realize they have strong time management, dependability, adaptability, and decision-making skills. We are also leveraging micro-certifications obtained through online training to enhance resumes as more and more individuals opt for this pathway. Additionally, we are having conversations with employers to understand their hiring criteria better so that we can better prepare candidates for success. By ensuring that the candidates we send are interviewed, as we are confident in their qualifications, we create a win-win situation for all.

What role does the Urban League play in supporting expungement efforts?

We definitely do not talk enough about expungement clinics. We have a lot of folks returning to mainstream society from jails and prisons, and we are here to assist them in getting their records expunged. When that happens, it allows them not only to secure jobs but also to obtain housing and to vote. These are inalienable rights that the Constitution talks about because, at the end of the day, freedom is not free.

Just to share a bit more, we recently had an expungement clinic where about 25 people came through. Sometimes when people hear “expungement,” they have in their mind a certain look of people, but there are lots of folks who, unfortunately, were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in something when they were younger. These are not all just folks getting out of the penal system. These are folks who have been working, have families, but there was still something holding them back. Someone told them their records could not be expunged. We had someone in Williamson County in 2024, a gentleman who wanted to be an attorney. His sister was a doctor, and everyone in his family was a professional. He had been in the military. He was literally in tears because he had been told for years by attorneys he had hired and paid very good money that his record could not be expunged. He tried one more time and found out that whatever was on his record could be taken off after all. 

It is life-changing. Most people do not know that if you go to court for any reason, you have a record. Even if it is just a traffic ticket. When you go to court, they have to create a record of why you went to court. As a result, it gives you a record, and that stuff can be expunged. So, when we say we are empowering communities and changing lives, we really mean it. We get to see it every day, and this is the core of our mission.

What are the Urban League’s top priorities for the next few years?

We are going to keep leaning in and doing what we are already doing. That is getting people access to livable wage jobs, making sure people are equipped and ready for the livable wage jobs and the jobs of the future, and making sure we continue to give people access to real estate development to help them be a part of the prosperity of building out this region, our cities, and our towns. We are also going to keep educating our children. We are going to keep leaning into our mission to make sure that African-Americans and other disenfranchised people have access to economic self-reliance, power, parity, and civil rights. That is what we have been doing for the last 115 years, and that is what we are going to do until Jesus returns. And when hell freezes over, we are going to put on our skates and keep doing what we are doing.

One more thing that I would like to emphasize is that Tennessee, specifically the city of Nashville, has been selected to host the National Urban League conference in 2026. That is a really big thing because it has never been hosted in Nashville despite the fact that the National Urban League actually started here in Nashville at Fisk University, which many were unaware of. When we had a team here from the National Urban League office in New York, we told them that, and they were really surprised. We are hoping they will have a play on that, something that speaks to the theme of “returning home,” as it is important that this community and the state realize the economic impact of bringing that conference to our state, city, and region.

Lastly, we have announced the State of Black Middle Tennessee report. There is some very telling data in that report. Nothing is really surprising, but now there are numbers to back it up. I think that is going to be very impactful as we continue to do our work, not just as the Urban League, but as this region continues to do its work. There are a lot of disparities that people know exist, but when you see the green impact of it, the dollar impact, it makes a difference.